Farming Mines in Armenia

In times of war, mines are placed to trap the enemy. But what happens in times of peace, when those mines remain?

"I have a pear orchard of seven thousand square metres on the border," said local farmer Vachagan Simonian. "Every year this orchard could bring in a crop of around seven thousand tonnes and I could sell it for around two thousand dollars - but I can’t."

"People cannot till their land, they have no income, which is why they have to leave to work in Russia," said Aharon Asilbekian, deputy head of the village administration.

An estimated 69,000 residents in 60 villages in Armenia are afflicted by the problem.

Pretty tragic. If you remember, the issue was previously covered on Armenia Blog.

Source: IWPR

Italy Gives $770,000 to Armenia to Fight Brucellosis

Brucelwhat? Brucellosis is apparently an infectious disease in sheep, goats, cows, pigs, and some other farm animals; in some cases, it can be fatal.

The government of Italy has released $770,000 to help Armenian authorities ward off brucellosis...

Cases of brucellosis have been on rise in Armenia since early 1990-s. The first phase of this program is set to be over in 2009 with a focus on three provinces which report the highest rate of the disease.

My Italian is not perfect, but I think I speak for everyone when I say, "Grazie molto!"

Source: ArmenPress

Pesticides in Mother's Milk, Fruits, Soil

As Armenia ponders capitalism, issues like this are becoming more common.

A study by a non-governmental organization...has found traces of chlororganic pesticides in soil, vegetables, fruits and even in mother milk, which in some instances exceeded the permitted level.

...the residues of pesticides originate mainly from wrong use of pesticide. She said many farmers still widely use pesticides which were banned years ago. The organization has sent the results of the study to health and agricultural ministries for further action.

Pesticides have been known to cancer, among other things.

Source: ArmenPress

Armenian Technology Group: An Agricultural Charity

I didn't know about the ATG until reading this article. Did you?

ATG showed them how to become self reliant through several projects, from growing American wheat seed to resurrecting the Armenian wine industry using thousands of plants from Visalia.

"The idea was to empower them to feed their own families."

Their next projects in Armenia, include establishing a diagnostic lab for infectious disease and building a cold storage packing facility...

Instead of throwing money at a problem, ATG decided to make people make their own destinies. This is a model that many charities should study and follow as it is the right way of providing assistance.

Check out Armenian Technology Group's official website to learn more about what they do and how. There are pictures there, as well!

Source: ABC